1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to telecommunications, and more particularly to cyber security and operations training.
2. Background of Related Art
Unlike typical academic training, a large part of cyber security and operations training involves practical application of concepts and techniques. However, there currently exists no recognized mechanism for assessing student technical skills in a practical environment. Consequently, most technical training courses administer knowledge exams to evaluate student skill sets.
Most attempts to assess student skills in a practical application environment center around Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions. A conventional Capture the Flag (CTF) competition tracks activity of persons (or teams) attempting a given objective against other persons (or teams) attempting the same objective. For example, if a goal of a Capture The Flag (CTF) competition is to maintain an active web server, the Capture The Flag (CTF) system periodically checks to ensure student web servers are functional. Competing students/teams may attempt to bring other students'/teams' web servers down to prevent those students/teams from earning points. If a students'/teams' web server is brought down, it is up to that student/team to get their service up and running again
Unfortunately, Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions do not include skill evaluation capabilities. For instance, CyberNEXS™ is an exemplary Capture the Flag (CTF) product (commercially manufactured by SAIC) devoid of training/skill evaluation capabilities. Hence, in a Capture the Flag (CTF) competition with a goal of maintaining an active web server, the Capture the Flag (CTF) system only checks to ensure web servers are running. The Capture the Flag (CTF) system has no way of assessing how quickly a problem is identified or how efficiently a problem is solved.
While Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions are fun, they do not identify strengths and weaknesses of students, nor do they assess skills toward a standard. The training industry is in dire need of a mechanism that can assess actual skills in a practical environment.